Paul George Thought Steven Adams Was 'Cocky, Arrogant Dude' Before Thunder Trade

Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George felt a certain way about Steven Adams before the two were teammates, he revealed to reporters on Tuesday.

"Going against him, I thought he was some cocky, arrogant dude, who always just wanted to start trouble," he said, per Royce Young of ESPN.com. "I just thought he was one of those bigs, every opportunity he wants problems. And when I got here, it was the truth."

George made it clear he was mostly joking, however.

"No, he's actually a great dude; he's actually a great teammate," he said. "He's actually pretty funny. He does want those problems down there, that is actually true, but I think that comes from him being a physical teammate. That comes with altercations."

You can see his full comments below:

Adams' importance to Oklahoma City is clear, and there's an argument to be made that he's the third-most impactful player on the Thunder behind Russell Westbrook and George, not Carmelo Anthony.

While Adams doesn't offer as much scoring as Anthony, he's averaging a solid 14.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Adams is an excellent rebounder, solid rim protector and strong partner for Westbrook in the pick-and-roll. 

That doesn't mean that Adams doesn't go about his business in a way that many around the league have described as dirty throughout his career. 

"The stuff that he does is not cool," a Western Conference coach told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times in 2016. "He throws elbows, extra hitting dudes away from the ball, hitting them with the chicken wing [elbow] and trying to get a rise out of them. That kind of stuff."

"He's real physical, but he crosses the line with stuff," a Western Conference player added in 2016. "He'll throw a sneaky elbow, push you in the back and foul you extra hard."

And Adams doesn't dispute that he plays incredibly physical, especially when crashing the glass.

"My whole mindset is just to hit them as hard as I can," Adams said of his approach to boxing out in February, per Dan Feldman of NBC Sports. "Really. Because it's more just a psyche thing. Because no one likes getting hit. I don't like getting hit. So, you get hit quite hard, then you'll kind of second guess like, 'Maybe, I'll just take a couple steps back.' So, make the job in the long run more easier."

He added: "They all brace. Everyone always braces, because I come in quite hot when I come in for a defensive box out."

Suffice to say, Adams has earned his reputation, even if George has a slightly different perspective on the center now that they are teammates.